War for the Planet of the Apes TV Spot – Apes Together Strong

20th Century Fox has released another new TV spot for War for the Planet of the Apes, putting Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his army of primates center stage. The critically acclaimed saga is coming to a dramatic climax in the third installment as Caesar comes face to face with a dogmatic new nemesis in the form of the Colonel (Woody Harrelson). War will conclude Caesar’s story and is likely to signal the end of mo-cap extraordinaire Andy Serkis’s involvement with the franchise.

Though the marketing has focused heavily on this sense of finality and scale, it’s also stayed true to Caesar’s intensely personal and complex character progression.

The latest TV spot highlights the darker side of his recurring internal conflict before coming back to the motif he coined in captivity during Rise of the Planet of the Apes: “Apes together strong“. Caught between loyalty to his own kind and his empathy for the better side of humanity, the events of War may finally have forced Caesar to choose one species over the other. The closing image of the TV spot gives a good impression of which side the charismatic ape will choose. Check it out for yourself above.

War for the Planet of the Apes is set to be the most spectacular entry in the trilogy, featuring several action-packed battle scenes and dramatic set pieces. The titular war has been foreshadowed since the battle lines were drawn in the finale of Rise, when the escaped primates fought their way out of San Francisco in an iconic sequence on the Golden Gate Bridge. Dawn upped the ante with a gritty assault on a human compound, but nothing compares to the full-scale warfare that’s been teased in the third movie.

War will see humans and apes come to blows in a series of large battle scenes, from the snowy woodland and steep forests of the apes’ territory to the industrial mountain base that the Colonel calls home. While it seems as though the odds aren’t in Caesar’s favor in any of the trailers, War is likely to complete the paradigm shift that caused Charlton Heston so much trouble in the 1968 Planet of the Apes.

War features the most tangible connection to the original in the form of a returning character, who adds some emotional weight and conflict to the chaotic proceedings. She represents Caesar’s continued internal struggle, highlighting how the series has remained focused on character despite its increasingly spectacular stakes. The third and final installment will see an embittered and violent Caesar fighting for the survival of his very species who must remain together to be strong – yet it’s also a battle for Caesar’s soul.